It’s no secret that social media is a double-edged sword. It can be a wonderful tool for building a business, connecting with friends and family and sharing uplifting messages and snippets from your life. It can also be a place where people compare, shame, insult and straight up spew hate at each other.
Recently, actress Selena Gomez, Instagram’s third-most-followed celebrity (152 million followers), went on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” and explained how she used to get on the app frequently to engage with fans, but became so depressed and upset about comments that were posted that she has since moved her account to her friend’s phone so she only has access once in a while.
“I think it’s just become really unhealthy for young people, including myself, to spend a lot of time fixating on all these comments and letting this stuff in, and it was affecting me," she said. "It would make me feel not good about myself, and look at my body differently and all kinds of stuff, so I actually don’t have it on my phone. I have it on someone else’s phone and when I feel like I want to share something with my fans or mess around with it, I do it then."
I’ve had those same feelings of depression, anxiety and fixation after being on Instagram. I’ve been back and forth so many times on whether it’s worth it for me to spend my time interacting on social media. Then on Sunday, we had a discussion in church about using social media as a missionary tool.
I had come across a post from my friend Meg Johnson in which she described an experience she had with following a prompting from the Spirit, and I shared this with my Sunday school class. Meg said initially she felt like she didn’t have time to follow through with the impression, but because her “heart was persistent” she changed her mind. And it changed her whole day.
“If it takes you away from your to-do list, is awkward and uncomfortable, it’s probably the Spirit and you absolutely should act,” Johnson posted. “I challenge you to act today.”
Her experience really touched me and inspired me to act the next time I had an impression.
I had that chance the very next day.
My boys and I were at the zoo, and I sat down on a bench to watch them play at the little splash pad for a minute. A little while later, a woman walked into the play area and stood several feet away, followed closely by her husband and two children. There was nothing especially unique about the way she looked, but my eyes were immediately drawn to her. Suddenly, I had a very strong impression that I needed to talk to her about the gospel.
“I don’t want to do that,” I thought. “That would be so embarrassing!”
The feeling persisted. “No way, I can’t just walk up to a complete stranger, tap her on the shoulder and be like, ‘Hello. I feel like you need to learn about Jesus.’"
But I couldn’t stop thinking about how I needed to open my mouth and share. Meg’s words came flooding into my mind:
“If it takes you away from your to-do list, is awkward and uncomfortable, it’s probably the Spirit and you absolutely should act.”
“Fine,” I said in my head. “If she comes and sits by me, then maybe I’ll think about talking.”
She came and sat down.
And so I started talking. Turns out, her family was from Michigan and they were on a cross-country road trip visiting nine national parks. Utah was one of their last stops. They were here for two more days. They wanted to see the Salt Lake Temple and learn more about the “Mormons.”
That five-minute conversation turned into a next-day meeting where my husband was able to give them a little bag our family put together that included copies of the Book of Mormon, New Testament, “Come Follow Me” manual, Friend magazine and pamphlet about the history of the Saints. They told Brad they had visited Temple Square after our meeting at the zoo. And then they went on their way.
I don’t know if I will ever see or hear from this beautiful family again. I don’t know what they thought of my boldness and forward gift. But at the risk of coming across as overbearing, I decided I would rather go all in than regret never having said or done anything.
“Imagine the generations that could be affected by you opening your mouth,” was the thought I had while watching their kids laugh and splash at the zoo. I felt an overwhelming feeling of joy after we said goodbye. I knew that no matter what they decided to do with their new information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was out of my hands. I had done what I felt my Heavenly Father wanted me to do.
And it was all because of a challenge I received on Instagram.